The present invention relates to an improved device for the repair of damaged, e.g., stone damaged laminated glass, e.g., automotive windshield glass.
Windshield repair can be accomplished in several different ways. Most of which involve the use of an apparatus or bridge device that uses one or more suction cups to attach the device to the windshield during the repair process.
A device commonly referred to as an injector is used to inject, under pressure, a clear liquid resin into a damaged laminated windshield. Some injectors or apparatuses incorporate the use of vacuum to remove trapped air from within the many cracks and fissures of the damaged glass. Various devices are used to evacuate air from within the damaged laminated glass, such as syringes, vacuum pumps, and pneumatic hand pumps.
Typically an apparatus is placed over the damaged glass and clear liquid resin is placed into an injector type device, which is held directly over the damaged glass. A seal is employed at the end of the injector body using an o-ring or similar type seal to prevent any repair liquid leakage during both pressure and vacuum cycles. Typically the vacuum is created above the repair liquid, this low-pressure area allows air to travel thru the liquid and eventually to be vacuumed out of the injector body.
Once the repair liquid material comes into contact with the glass damage it will immediately begin to penetrate into the cracks and fissures of the damaged glass. This influence can adversely affect the vacuum's ability to remove all the trapped air and can slow the effects of the vacuum process. Depending on the viscosity and density of the repair liquid, this influence can be dramatic.